Our Honduras Trip Cost: What it Costs to Travel Honduras

April 10, 2024

This article contains affiliate links, that may earn me a small commission at no extra cost to you. For full information, please see our disclaimer here.

So you’re planning a trip to Honduras and want to know what things cost? I got you!

We spent 2 and a half weeks in Honduras as part of our 6-month trip around Central America and tracked every cent we spent.

We found Honduras to be about mid-range on the budget scale, compared with its neighbours. It’s not as cheap as Guatemala or Nicaragua, but it’s certainly not as expensive as Belize, Costa Rica or Panama.

We averaged 3,790 HNL ($156 USD) per day for two people, which is 1,895 HNL ($78 USD) per person per day.

Chances are you’re visiting Honduras to go scuba diving as we were, which will add a big chunk to your budget. Diving costs in Honduras are some of the cheapest in the world, so it’s worth it, but it’s a cost you need to factor in.

Outside of diving, we found accommodation, (local) food, sightseeing and activities pretty affordable. Transport was another budget killer, and there were a lot of tempting international restaurants that were more expensive than the local baleadas.

I’ve divided this post into two sections. The first is an overview of typical costs in Honduras for common travel expenses like accommodation, eating out, tours and activities and transport.

The second part is our Honduras travel budget report, with our actual expenses and daily averages for each category.

A top down close up shot of an assortment of Honduran Lempira bank notes in different colours with varying male historical figures on the notes, to work out your Honduras trip cost

This post is in two parts:

Typical travel costs in Honduras
Our Honduras trip cost and budget report

Click to jump to the section you’re interested in 👆🏼

Table of Contents

What things cost in Honduras

If you’re planning a trip to Honduras, you probably want to know what it’s going to cost!

I don’t like giving an exact daily budget, because it depends on a thousand factors and is completely personal to your travel style, interests, desired level of comfort etc.

Instead, what I find more helpful is to share some actual costs for common travel expenses, to help you piece together a realistic budget for your trip, based on your preferences.

These costs were accurate at the time of writing, but in a post-pandemic world, I’m sure you know how quickly prices can change, and how much costs are rising all over the world.

Although Honduras hasn’t experienced any major increase in cost, chances are some of these costs will be outdated by the time you travel. I hope they at least give you a helpful baseline of what to expect.

One major thing to note: everything is more expensive on the Bay Islands compared to the mainland.

💰 Read more about Honduras’ currency and managing your money in our Honduras backpacking guide

A top down close up shot of an assortment of Honduran Lempira bank notes in different colours and denominations

Our Honduras Trip Cost: What it Costs to Travel Honduras

Accommodation

There is a range of accommodation styles available in Honduras, from dorm beds in hostels to luxury all-inclusive resorts. There aren’t as many hostel options as in neighbouring countries, but there is always at least one decent one in most popular tourist towns.

The Bay Islands are more expensive for accommodation. Roatan in particular can be quite pricey, with limited options that need to be booked in advance in peak season.

Utila is better as most dive schools offer accommodation, and if you’re happy with a dorm bed, it’s usually free if you’re taking a PADI course.

The mainland has much cheaper options, with a handful of great hostels, but also small guesthouses with private options that are just as affordable as dorm beds.

I’d say accommodation costs in Honduras are pretty standard for Central America as a whole. If you’re on the lower end of the scale you might find the lack of hostels means dorms are more costly for you, but if you’re not penny-pinching, the prices are pretty good. We also found the quality of accommodation to be very high.

🛌 TYPICAL COSTS FOR ACCOMMODATION

*Accommodation is generally priced in USD

Dorm bed at West End Dive Resort, Roatan: $30 USD (a resort with dorms!)
Private cabin at Hotel Chillies, Roatan: $50 USD
Dorm bed at Underwater Vision Dive School, Utila: $10 USD (discounted price for divers, free with any PADI course)
Private room with bathroom and AC at Underwater Vision Dive School, Utila: $44 USD (discounted price for divers)
Dorm bed at La Hamaca Hostel, Utila: $17 USD
Dorm bed at Jungle River Lodge, Rio Cangrejal: $20 USD
Private room with bathroom at Omega Tours Eco Jungle Lodge, Rio Cangrejal: $90 USD
Dorm bed at D&D Brewery & Lodge, Lake Yojoa: $10 USD
Private room with bathroom at D&D Brewery & Lodge, Lake Yojoa: $27 USD
Dorm bed at Iguana Azul, Copan Ruinas: $12 USD
Private room with bathroom and kitchenette in an Airbnb in Copan Ruinas: $45 USD

A Canva graphic about standard Honduras trip costs, this image is about accommodation with 3 images of accommodations with typical costs

Eating out

Eating out in Honduras can be pretty affordable, but there are lots of great international options that can be tempting, especially on the islands.

Baleadas are your go-to cheap street food, that are delicious for breakfast, lunch or dinner and shouldn’t set you back more than 50 – 80 HNL ($2 – $3 USD).

There are a lot of great international restaurants in Roatan and Utila. These are of course more expensive than eating local food, but the quality was actually really good, so we were tempted far too often!

The cafes and sweet treats were another massive temptation in Honduras. As Central America’s largest producer of coffee, their coffee was gooood, even in small rural towns. There are also a lot of chocolate shops, which led to a brownie a day, which isn’t great for the budget…

Local beers, Salva Vida, are pretty standard cost, around 35 HNL ($1.50 USD) to buy from the supermarket, and a bit more from bars. Cocktails are reasonable, and happy hours are common.

🍫 Read more about typical food and drinks to try in Honduras

🌮 TYPICAL COSTS FOR FOOD

*With the exception of Roatan, food is usually priced in HNL

Breakfast baleada with egg and avocado: 50 HNL ($2 USD)
Lunch/dinner baleada with meat and vegetables: 50 HNL ($2 USD)
International meal (e.g. Asian noodles, pasta): 250 HNL ($10 USD)
Tipico Honduran breakfast plate in a hostel: 120 HNL ($5 USD)
Brownie with ice cream at a nice cafe: 90 HNL ($3.50 USD)
Barista-style coffee from a cafe in Utila: 65 HNL ($2.50 USD)
Hot chocolate from speciality chocolate cafe: 75 HNL ($3 USD)
Salva Vida beer from the supermarket: 35 HNL ($1.50 USD)
Standard cocktail from a casual beach bar: 150 HNL ($6 USD)

A Canva graphic about standard Honduras trip costs, this image is about food with 5 images of varying meals and snacks, like baleadas, brownies and international dishes with their average costs

A Canva graphic about standard Honduras trip costs, this image is about drinks with 4 images of varying drinks, like coffee, cocktails and beer with their average costs

Tours and activities

We found the cost of tours, sightseeing/entry tickets and activities in Honduras pretty reasonable.

Of course, scuba diving added a big chunk to our budget that we didn’t have in neighbouring countries. But the cost of diving here relative to other places in the world is very cheap.

If you’re taking a PADI Open Water course, expect to pay $300 – $350 USD, usually with basic dorm accommodation included. If you’re qualified and just want to do fun dives, the average cost per dive is between $35 – $45 USD. Buying a pack of multiple dives will bring the cost down.

If you’re scuba diving in Utila, most dive shops run 2 tank boats, and you can expect to pay $75 USD for 2 dives. In Roatan, as the dive sites are mostly closer to shore, a lot of shops will give you the option of a single-tank dive. We paid $45 USD for an excellent dive.

We didn’t need to take too many other guided tours. Most experiences were independent which was great after Guatemala, where it felt like everything needed a mandatory guide. The only tours you might take besides diving are snorkel tours, white water rafting, day tours to remote cays, guided hikes or a guided tour of the Mayan city of Copan.

Entrance fees to attractions, nature preserves, waterfalls etc. were all very affordable, and on par or cheaper than neighbouring countries. We felt we saved quite a bit here and that’s what kept costs down overall, despite the diving.

🤿 TYPICAL COSTS FOR TOURS AND ACTIVITIES

*Cheap entrance fees are usually priced in HNL, but pricier tours are usually charged in USD

Two tank qualified scuba diving in Utila: $75 USD
One tank qualified scuba diving in Roatan: $45 USD
Return boat transfers to Water Cay, Utila: $20 USD
White water rafting on Rio Cangrejal: $60 USD
Entry to the Mayan city of Copan: $20 USD
Entry to Macaw Mountain: 240 HNL ($10 USD)
All-day kayak rental Lake Yojoa: 200 HNL ($8 USD)
Entry to Cataratas Pulhapanzak: 100 HNL ($4 USD)

A Canva graphic about standard Honduras trip costs, this image is about tours with 5 images of varying activities like scuba diving with their average costs

A Canva graphic about standard Honduras trip costs, this image is about sightseeing and attractions with 4 images of tourist sights with entry costs

Transport

Transport was our budget killer in Honduras! Between the ferries and a few tourist shuttles, it was a huge expense and was definitely more costly than we expected.

The ferries to and from the Bay Islands are at least $30 USD per trip, some routes more.

We opted for tourist shuttles in and out of the country, which I’m glad we did as it would have been a nightmare day navigating multiple chicken buses and borders, but the trips weren’t cheap ($50 – $60 USD).

The local transportation, both coach buses and chicken buses, were very affordable, mostly efficient and easy to navigate. We could have used these a few more times than we did and saved a fair bit of cash.

🚌 TYPICAL COSTS FOR TRANSPORT

*More expensive things were priced in USD, cheaper, more local options priced in HNL

La Ceiba to Roatan ferry: $36 USD
Utila to La Ceiba ferry: $30 USD
Roneey Shuttle tourist shuttle La Ceiba to Lago de Yojoa: $45 USD
Chicken bus San Pedro Sula – Lago de Yojoa: 70 HNL ($3 USD)
Hedman Alas coach bus San Pedro Sula to Copan Ruinas: $20 USD
Short tuk-tuk ride in Utila: 80 HNL ($3.50 USD)
One day ATV rental in Utila: $45 USD

A Canva graphic about standard Honduras trip costs, this image is about transport with 3 images of varying transport methods, like chicken bus, ferry and ATV with their average costs